


The Veto

by burnintoash (funnymorning)



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 03:54:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13158735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funnymorning/pseuds/burnintoash
Summary: “Him,” Jihoon points at Hyeongseob and says. “I veto him. Woojin, he is vetoed.”Woojin sighs and takes Hyeongseob’s hand off of his arm. “I am really sorry, babe, but me and Jihoon have this thing where we have the power to veto the person the other one is seeing if we don’t like that person.”“You can’t be serious,” Hyeongseob blinks.“Sadly, no. So, yeah, I think we should just go now, but come back some other time to try the bread rolls here though. They are amazing.”In which Jihoon and Woojin are best friends and disastrous human beings and also stupidly in love with each other.Loosely based on a couple episdoes of Don't Trust the B in the Apartment 23.





	The Veto

**Author's Note:**

> If you have seen 'Don't Trust the B' before, you'd know what to expect since this is basically based on Chloe and James' dynamic. If not, just know that neither of them are particularly nice people. So yeah.

Woojin is used to hearing the ‘Oh my god’s and similar various forms of devout claims during sex. He is not even bragging. It is just one of the facts of life. The earth revolves around the sun; the area of a triangle is half of its base into its height; and Woojin’s dick makes girls and guys alike believe in religion, and possibly heaven.

 

But he has never heard an “Oh my god” quite like this. The voice sounds more alarmed and scared than blissful and climaxing. He is starting to worry if there is something wrong with his dick before he becomes aware of the front door opening.

 

“You said you live alone!” The girl who was in between his legs two seconds ago shrieks, grabbing the throw on the couch that Woojin is sitting on to cover up her naked torso, which is a shame, because she has really nice boobs.

 

“I do.” Woojin replies. “That’s just Jihoon.” He raises a hand at said Jihoon, who throws his spare keycard onto the side table and nods back at him.

 

“What the hell.” The girl says. “Put your pants back on!”

 

“Oh, I’ve seen worse, sweetheart. Don’t bother,” Jihoon waves a hand and takes off his coat. “Woojin, I am crashing here tonight.”

 

It is a statement – not a question or a request – as it always is with Jihoon. Woojin just shrugs back since he is more focused on the girl who is now getting dressed.

 

“You are leaving?”

 

“Erm, yeah?” The girl looks at him like he is the one who is crazy – as if he is the one leaving in the middle of sex. “Seems like you’d be busy.”

 

“No, it’s just Jihoon.” Woojin repeats, but she is already buttoning her coat.

 

“I’ll see you on Monday?” The girl says, tiptoeing to give Woojin a kiss and Woojin absentmindedly kisses her back, pretty sure that she won’t be seeing him. He doesn’t really have any plan on going back to her gym after tonight, but now that Jihoon has cockblocked him, he doesn’t mind going back again, but the trial period he signed up for at the gym she is teaching Yoga at had already expired so that’s a bummer.

 

“You owe me a blow job.” Woojin tells Jihoon after the girl leaves and he has to regretfully puts his pants back on.

 

Jihoon doesn’t even bother lifting his head out of the fridge where he is probably raiding all of Woojin’s food. “Your dick looks smaller than I remember. Did it shrink? You know I don’t blow guys smaller than 6.5”

 

“My dick is still the biggest you’ve ever had,” Woojin mumbles. “Leftover Chinese on second shelf.”

 

Jihoon happily takes out the containers and comes to sit down at the small kitchen island. Woojin pours him the wine he was using to woo the extremely hot Yoga instructor since he might as well just finish the bottle.

 

“Did you finally burn down your apartment to claim insurance?” Woojin asks as Jihoon shoves an impossibly big pork rib piece into his mouth.

 

“Fuck, no.” Jihoon grumbles back. “You know I am still on the watch list after the previous four insurance scams I pulled.”

 

“Yes, I am well aware of your criminal record. Why are you here? Do you know how many useless Yoga sessions I had to sit through to get her to agree to a date?”

 

“Of course, I don’t. For some of us, the challenge is stopping people from wanting to sleep with us, Woojin.” Jihoon says seriously, and Woojin just rolls his eyes. He’d argue back but both of them know that most people throw themselves at Jihoon’s feet at every single chance anyway. “Anyway, I am here because my housemate is crying and throwing a fit.”

 

“The Taiwanese housemate? You finally got to him?” Woojin raises an eyebrow and pours himself another glass. See, Jihoon pulls this business project (or in street talk, _scam_ ) where he rents out the extra bedroom in his apartment to naïve and hopeful small town kids, and annoy/scare/traumatize them for life until they give up on the security deposit and run back to wherever rat hole they come out from. But the last one, a barely 21 years old from Taiwan with rudimentary Korean at best, refuses to leave no matter how many times Jihoon walks around the house naked or schedules an orgy. From Woojin’s experience, a lot of the guy house mates easily leave once Jihoon brings a guy (or three) over, but this one has been stubborn.

 

“Nah, I told you I don’t mind him.”

 

Woojin snorts. “That’s the first sign that he should run.”

 

“He sold my iMac after he found out I was charging him triple the market price for rent. I respect that kind of hustle.” Jihoon shrugs.

 

“You got that iMac back yet?” Woojin asks. Jihoon has been dead livid a few days ago because Guanlin, the Taiwanese housemate, sold his computer off in an attempt of petty revenge and he has been trying to get it back.

 

“Yeah, he sold it to his church pastor. Noob. I got it back after I cried at them about how it was the graduation present from my grandma before she passed away.”

 

Woojin snorts. “Both of your grandmas are still living.”

 

“So?” Jihoon shrugs. “Anyway, he says he’ll pay the same amount for the rent as me and that he is not moving, so I said fine, you know.”

 

“Then why is he throwing a fit now?”

 

“Oh, today’s his birthday.” Jihoon says.

 

“And?”

 

“And I fucked his fiancée on his birthday cake.”

 

Oh, there it is, but Woojin has to ask the important questions here.

 

“He is like 21. Why does he have a fiancée?”

 

“I know, right?” Jihoon wrinkles his nose. “Elementary school sweethearts and everything. I mean, it’s gross. How in love Guanlin is with that chick.”

 

“So, you fucked her?”

 

“No,” Jihoon looks weirdly offended. “I fucked her because she is a bitch who’s been sleeping around, and she doesn’t even try to hide it, like I found condoms in her bag and Guanlin has been very vocal about waiting until the marriage.”

 

“Questions about why you were looking through her bag aside, maybe she’s saving them for something else.” Woojin shrugs.

 

“For what? To make balloon animals?” Jihoon snorts. “Plus, it takes a slut to recognize a slut. I mean, you know I am all for it, dude. Spread your love and spread your legs, ya know. But she agreed to get engaged in a monogamy relationship. For money, by the way. She told me when I was taking her dress off, and that’s another thing. She talks so fucking much.”

 

“You talk like you haven’t fucked married men for money.” Woojin rolls his eyes.

 

“Yeah, but I don’t know their wives.” Jihoon shrugs. Jihoon’s moral compass, if he ever possesses one, is pretty crappy and weird to understand in the first place so Woojin doesn’t argue further.

 

“So, he caught you two?”

 

“Yeah,” Jihoon nods. “After that, it was easy, you know. To steer the conversation towards her previous hook ups and then they were fighting and she was calling him boring and he was crying and I just left.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be like, I don’t know, consoling him or something?”

 

“Ew, no.” Jihoon says and stands up, all leftover gone. “For what? He should be thanking me, for showing him the cruel reality of the world.”

 

“And yet, I was the one cruelly left here without a blow job.”

 

“My god, you are so noisy.” Jihoon glares at him. “I will blow you myself if you are that horny. Let me just go brush my teeth first so your dick doesn’t smell like garlic.”

 

“Forget it.” Woojin waves a hand. “Hey, there’s a vodka launch party Tuesday night, you in?”

 

“Duh. Who else are you gonna take?”

 

“Plenty of choices.” Woojin snorts.

 

“Yeah, but can any of them dazzle the cameras like I do?”

 

No. No, they really can’t.

 

* * *

 

Jihoon left around fuck-early-o’clock in the morning. Woojin felt him get up from the bed he was sharing with Woojin and got out of the room but Woojin was too sleep ridden to be asking him where he was going.

 

When he finally wakes up, it is half past 9 in the morning and Jihoon has left him about three messages – two of them with accompanying videos. The first one has Jihoon with his arm around Guanlin, surprisingly.

 

“I was right, Park!” Jihoon is yelling into the phone. “He says me fucking his bitch fiancée is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him.”

 

“Yeah,” Guanlin yells manically into the phone. “I WOULDN’T HAVE KNOWN OTHERWISE IF IT WASN’T FOR JIHOONIE HYUNG AND I AM FREE NOW!”

 

Woojin winces and turns down the volume on his phone before going to the next video message, which is just a few seconds of a guy dancing in a club before the camera focuses back on Jihoon. “I am going to sleep with him but he is pinging my creep-o-meter a little bit, you know, he’s still hot but in a serial killer kind of way. Anyway, if you don’t hear back from me by morning, find that guy. Love you. Bye.”

 

Woojin snorts and reads the last message from Jihoon which is just a string of badly spelled words saying he is back home.

 

Woojin shakes his head, ignores the other messages, some from the hot Yoga instructor and some from work, and tries to find his orange juice, which he just bought two days back. He did find the empty carton in the rubbish bin, so yeah, probably Jihoon. And the leftovers he was saving for breakfast were also ravished by the same fucker last night so guess Woojin is eating breakfast outside today then.

 

* * *

 

Woojin has met Jihoon at a bar the first day after he turned 18. They slept together two hours after the first time they said hi, Woojin had a good time and Jihoon left with Woojin’s most expensive Supreme hoodie in the morning. In hindsight, that encounter seems to foreshadow the kind of relationship he will have with Jihoon all through his adult life.

 

He really did not expect to see Jihoon after their one night stand, not until Jihoon walked into the dance class Woojin was in back then, all dressed in Woojin’s Supreme hoodie and eyes dripping with honey at the instructor who was a good 15 years older than them.

 

Woojin just wanted his hoodie back; he didn’t expect to end up with an avalanche of a human being as a best friend 5 years later.

 

But that is what they are. Best friends, in the probably most dysfunctional way but still best friends.

 

Jihoon is firey and bright and calculating and narcissist and probably needs at least two lifetimes of counseling, but he loves Woojin because Woojin loves him just as the magnificent disaster that he is, and it is not like Woojin is some outstanding citizen of morals and ethics. Sure, he is not running around scamming people or sleeping with married dudes, but he has his moments, and Jihoon gets him and that is enough.

 

* * *

 

“Thank me,” Jihoon says out of the blue and Woojin raises an eyebrow but keeps his eye on the filter he is choosing for his latest Instagram photo.

 

“Dream on, bitch.”

 

“Uh uh,” Jihoon tsks, looking over Woojin’s shoulder and pointing at a black and white filter. “That one. It makes your biceps look more impressive.”

 

“Hmm,” Woojin contemplates, and Jihoon smacks him on the head.

 

“Use it. That is why you don’t even have half of my follower number.”

 

“I don’t have half of your follower number because I don’t pose blatant ass shots.” Woojin fires back but uses that filter anyway.

 

“No, but you have plenty of abs shots, which by the way, I haven’t seen from you in, what, two weeks?”

 

“You track my photos?”

 

“You know half of my brain capacity is used for cataloguing instagram matters.” Jihoon says. “Did you gain some love muffin? Are the washboard abs gone? What am I gonna do body shots on now?”

 

“You can still lick salt off of my abs, don’t worry.” Woojin lifts his shirt and Jihoon pats at his abs. “I am reeling in the hoe shots a bit because I’ve been wooing this guy.”

 

“Ergh,” Jihoon groans. “Another pretty preppy dude? I don’t know what you see in them, man. They are boring and probably also bad at sex.”

 

“They are not,” Woojin says distractedly and posts the photo to instagram.

 

“You only like them because they are all groupies. _Ooh, it is Park Woojin, that hot choreographer from YouTube. I bet he can do a handstand during sex as well._ ”

 

“No one can do a handstand during sex.” Woojin puts down his phone and says. “What were you asking me to thank you about?”

 

“Oh, yeah,” Jihoon brightens up. “So, I’ve been seeing this girl for a while, and turns out her sister is interested in a threesome –”

 

“Fast forward to the part where it is relevant to me,” Woojin waves a hand and says.

 

“She works at Mnet. She says they are looking for a non-idol dancer for their new idol dancing shows. Kind of trainer slash judge, you know. The plans are not public yet but supposed to be high profile.”

 

Well, that does interest him. Woojin has been trying to break into the television scene because while he and his studio have a solid footing in the online scene, it has been a little harder to get into the TV and the idol industry because it is already as saturated as it is.

 

“And guess who got an invite to one of the Mnet show launch parties where the main producer of that dance show is attending?”

 

“Nice,” Woojin raises his hand for a high five, but Jihoon just shakes his finger at him.

 

“Nah-ah.”

 

“Thanks?”

 

“Better, but try harder.” Jihoon grins.

 

“I love you?”

 

“Fuck off.”

 

Woojin rolls his eyes. “I’ll buy you drinks.”

 

“You already always buy me drinks.” Jihoon says. “I want new sunglasses.”

 

“Urgh, fine.” Woojin gives in. “I need to go shopping for my new video anyway. Tomorrow?”

 

“What would you ever do without me, Park Woojin?”

 

* * *

 

Woojin met Hyeongseob at the café he frequently visits, partly because the drinks there are cheap but mostly because it is close to Hongdae and a lot of hot people hang out there, ranging from wanna be models to students from nearby universities. Hyeongseob is the latter category.

 

He is a little too snobbish and high maintenance for Woojin’s liking, but it is not like Woojin is out husband hunting. Hyeongseob is pretty enough and Woojin likes the way he laughs, which is a strange thing to have as an ideal thing, but whatever. It could be worse. Hyeongseob also has no idea that Woojin is a relatively famous dancer. Woojin’s dance videos get an average of 1.5 million views with the higher count ending at 5 million in that one video where he gyrated on the floor to Beyoncé’s Hold Up. A lot of people he slept with more or less know him – Jihoon wasn’t wrong about groupies. It is kind of a new thing, for Woojin to show his videos to Hyeongseob like he is waiting for _his approval_ almost.

 

It is also a new thing for Woojin to keep seeing Hyeongseob after the first fuck. It is not like he hasn’t dated before but it has been quite long since he saw the same person for more than two or three weeks, and it had almost been a month with Hyeongseob. Sure, Hyeongseob feels a little too rigid for Woojin but maybe that is just what Woojin needs – someone who knows how normal relationship works to counter balance him.

 

Woojin decided to introduce Hyeongseob to Jihoon after they start seeing each other for a month. It’s a thing they do – he and Jihoon. There is no point introducing each other to the people they sleep with given that it is a shit load, but they do make an effort to let each other know if sleeping has turned into dating.

 

So, Woojin arranges a brunch – “ _That already sounds pretentious as fuck. Who is this bitch you are seeing?”_ and asks Jihoon to dress in his best appropriate shirt. Jihoon turns up with Guanlin – he says it is to let Guanlin regulate the conversation since Guanlin is such a normie and Woojin does appreciate the effort.

 

Things go ok for the first few minutes after the introduction until Hyeongseob leans onto Woojin’s arm and says. “What’s good here, babe? Can you help me order?”

 

“Veto.” Jihoon yells and Woojin groans. See, this is what he was hoping not to happen.

 

“Veto what?” Guanlin asks and Hyeongseob turns to Jihoon in the same puzzled expression.

 

“Him,” Jihoon points at Hyeongseob and says. “I veto him. Woojin, he is vetoed.”

 

Woojin sighs and takes Hyeongseob’s hand off of his arm. “I am really sorry, babe, but me and Jihoon have this thing where we have the power to veto the person the other one is seeing if we don’t like that person.”

 

“You can’t be serious,” Hyeongseob blinks.

 

“Sadly, no. So, yeah, I think we should just go now, but come back some other time to try the bread rolls here. They are amazing.”

 

* * *

 

“I don’t get it. Hyeongseob is hot and rich, and he likes me.” Woojin says, munching on the olives that Jihoon does not touch from his martini. Brunch was a burst so now they are at Jihoon’s idea of a lunch – a martini bar with peanuts for nutrition.

 

“He also has a stick up his ass that I can see from three miles away.” Jihoon shrugs. “Look, dude, this is for you, ok? Some people have gaydar. I have Woojin-is-about-to-get-heartbroken-dar. He is dating you because you are one motorcycle and tragic back story away from the dangerous bad boy type. He’ll run once he realizes he can’t change you into the demure and obedient boyfriend he can leash around.”

 

“That’s harsh,” Woojin sulks.

 

“Life is harsh, young Park.” Jihoon says thoughtfully. “At least, I gave you solid reasoning. You vetoed Kang Daniel because he has about 50 thousands more subscribers than you.”

 

“I vetoed him because he is an asshole.”

 

Jihoon just rolls his eyes. Yes, Woojin did veto Jihoon from seeing Kang Daniel because he is not above stopping his best friend from dating one of his professional rivals if he can, and now it is coming back to bite him in the ass.

 

Woojin really did like Hyeongseob.

 

“Whatever. I am going to the studio. Got a class to teach at 4.”

 

“3:30,” Jihoon says.

 

“No, 4.”

 

“I posted a change of timing post on your dance studio Instagram.” Jihoon shrugs. “It takes 15 minutes to get to your studio from here and 10 minutes to prep so that should be enough for you to make it in time. I don’t want you idling around and thinking about what-is-his-face.”

 

“I hate you,” Woojin says and jumps off the bar stool. Now, he has to rush back to the studio.

 

“Pay for your drinks before you leave, bitch.” Jihoon yells at him but Woojin just throws him a middle finger.

 

* * *

 

Woojin meant to honor the veto. He really did.

 

Except you know, Hyeongseob turns up at his place late at night, alcohol and the coldness making his face flushed and adorable even when he is yelling in Woojin’s face about how Woojin is a horrible person and a more horrible boyfriend and Woojin stops him by kissing him, partly because he looks cute and partly because this will be the third round if the neighbors complain again about noise disturbance.

 

And then kissing turns into sex and sex turns into promises made in ecstasy about dates and boyfriends, and Woojin finds himself dating Hyeongseob again the next morning.

 

Woojin does not mention that he is still seeing Hyeongseob the next time he meets Jihoon. It is not like Jihoon and Hyeongseob run in the same circle anyway. Hyeongseob is more art galleries and musicals and hipster cafés whereas Jihoon is more parties and rowdy bars and sex clubs.

 

Hyeongseob keeps pestering Woojin though – to meet with Jihoon once more, which Woojin knows, is for Hyeongseob to rub it in Jihoon’s face that Woojin is still seeing him despite the veto, and Woojin knows better than to follow through. Hyeongseob leaves bitter comments asking whether Woojin is waiting until they eventually break up so he will never have to tell Jihoon about them, and honestly, part of Woojin agrees. But he also knows how to pretend to be a good boyfriend so he does not openly admit that and distracts Hyeongseob with gifts and sex and plenty of compliments until Hyeongseob drops the topic.

 

Except Hyeongseob keeps hanging out at Woojin’s place because who wouldn’t. Half of his money goes into paying the rent since his place is fucking amazing. And Jihoon uses his spare key any time he likes so Woojin supposes he shouldn’t be as shocked when Jihoon eventually turns up when he and Hyeongseob were watching a French film that Hyeongseob is supposed to dissecting for a class. Woojin is not sure what he is more ashamed of – the fact that Jihoon catches him with Hyeongseob or the fact that he catches them cuddling.

 

“I vetoed him, Park Woojin.” Jihoon crosses his arms and says, lips pursed and brows raised. “What is he doing here?”

 

“That is not how friendship works.” Hyeongseob cuts in before Woojin can open his mouth. “You can’t just veto your friend’s boyfriend. No friend has that much control over each other’s life.”

 

“We do, and also use some toner. I can see myself in the reflection of your oily face surface.”

 

“Jihoon, let’s talk.” Woojin jumps up from the couch and takes Jihoon by the hand to drag him into the small kitchen, shooting an apologetic glance at Hyeongseob.

 

“Unless you want to tell me that he is the son of the richest man on earth and you are scamming him for his inheritance, there is no other explanation to make this better.”

 

“I am not scamming him,” Woojin grits. “Look, how about we not do the veto thing anymore?”

 

“What the fuck,” Jihoon pulls his arm out of Woojin’s grasp. “You can’t veto the veto.”

 

“Well, I am doing it anyway. I am gonna veto the veto.”

 

“This isn’t gonna work.”

 

“Jihoon,” Woojin sighs. “Maybe you are right and I might get heartbroken or whatever, but at least, that’d be on my own terms, and not yours.”

 

“Oh, I don’t mean you and him.” Jihoon says curtly. “I mean you and me.”

 

“You are dumping me out of our friendship?” Woojin blinks. Sure, Jihoon gets mad at him from time to time and they are more often than not yelling at each other in the face, but Jihoon never truly gets mad at him. “Just because I am seeing a guy you don’t like?”

 

“No, because you didn’t keep your promise and you lied to me.”

 

“You lie all the time!” Woojin says exasperatedly. “Your whole adulthood is based on lying people out of their money.”

 

“Not to you.” Jihoon says stubbornly. “I’d never lie to you for money.”

 

“No,” Woojin snorts. “You’d just say _Park Woojin give me 100,000 won_ and then I’ll never see that money again.”

 

“Exactly,” Jihoon points a finger at him. “I’d never lie to you because I value our friendship, but you don’t. So, we are done. Enjoy your time with oily face and don’t crawl back to me when his highness finally dumps you.”

 

“You can’t survive a day without me.” Woojin rolls his eyes. “You’d be either too broke or bored. And who’s gonna come and bail you out of jail?”

 

“I have Guanlin and plenty of sugar daddies,” Jihoon waves a hand. “Worry abut yourself. You’d degrade back to the boring Busan townie before I raised you up by the scruff of your neck into the man that you are today.”

 

“Do you even hear the words coming out of your mouth?”

 

“I hear nothing but the truth.” Jihoon says and grabs the brand new wine bottle Woojin got from a fan the other day. “I am taking this as compensation for all the time and emotions I have wasted on you.”

 

“You have no emotion!” Woojin yells after him but Jihoon just takes off, leaving his spare key on the side table next to the door.

 

“He’s an asshole,” Hyeongseob turns to Woojin and says.

 

“I know,” Woojin sighs. “He’ll come back when he has no money to pay his rent or wants someone to go to a party with.”

 

“You sound like you are waiting for it.” Hyeongseob raises an eyebrow. “Just let it be. Don’t be friends with him anymore. It doesn’t look like it’d be a huge loss.”

 

“It’s Jihoon.” Woojin says. It is Jihoon and Woojin, has always been. It doesn’t make sense to be Jihoon minus Woojin or Woojin minus Jihoon. Jihoon will come back when he realizes that as well. “Anyway, I have the night free. What do you want to do?”

 

“How about you come and meet with my friends for a change? Maybe you’d actually get to see what friends are supposed to be like.”

 

* * *

 

Woojin breaks up with Hyeongseob a week after he met with Hyeongseob’s friends; one of the reasons is because he can feel Hyeongseob getting more and more on edge as time goes on and he starts to realize Woojin is never gonna be the prim and proper and all faux-intelligent kind of people that all his friends are. And another is because Woojin can blatantly see that Hyeongseob is probably in love with one of the guys from the group of his friends – a guy who looks like he’d rather eat his own hipster glasses than date a guy, but that is Hyeongseob’s battle to fight.

 

Also, Hyeongseob has been getting more and more prickly with Woojin and making snide comments about Woojin’s social circle and his career and his life – way too much for someone who’s been seeing Woojin for a grand total of less than two months, so Woojin breaks up with him before Hyeongseob could. Park Woojin never gets dumped.

 

Woojin would be lying if he says he is not affected in the slightest though. Despite the annoyance outweighing a lot of the goods, Hyeongseob is still a fun one and it kind of sucks that Woojin does miss him a little bit.

 

“Are you and Jihoon hyung still not talking?” Guanlin asks one day over lunch. Woojin does not even remember when he got close enough with Guanlin to be regularly getting lunch together, but it’s been happening for a while now, even before Jihoon’s dramatic exit out of his life. “It’s been a week. Have you ever gone a week without talking to each other?”

 

“Yeah,” Woojin shrugs. “When Jihoon got hospitalized from alcohol poisoning that one time and couldn’t talk for a week because he has a tube shoved down his throat. Wait, I think that was only five days.”

 

Guanlin blinks. “I want to ask but I also don’t want to. Anyway, when are you guys gonna make up? It feels weird, you know. It’s like when my mom and dad got separated for like a month and they make me choose who I want to stay with on weekends.”

 

“We are not your parents.”

 

“And I thank god daily for that.” Guanlin dead pans. “But since you, you know, already broke up with your boyfriend, why don’t you talk to Jihoon hyung?”

 

“Why should I talk to him?” Woojin rolls his eyes. “He was the one who dumped me. And, why are you pushing me but not Jihoon?”

 

“Because you are the slightly more normal one.”

 

Woojin just drowns his afternoon whiskey.

 

* * *

 

When Woojin does talk to Jihoon again, it isn’t really in the way Woojin was expecting.

 

He runs into Jihoon at a Gucci launch party – on the arm of a relatively well-known designer, probably older than both of their mothers. Woojin also happens to know her because she sponsored one of Woojin’s choreography videos before.

 

“Woojin,” she calls at him, red glittery nails glistening under the neon light as she beckons him over while Jihoon smiles saccharine sweet at him. Woojin rolls his eyes internally. “Oh, it is so good to see you again. This is Lee Jihoon. He’s an aspiring actor.”

 

Woojin tries his best not to snort. Jihoon is first of all, not a Lee, and second of all, he is already an actor and the only thing he is aspiring for now is probably her money and maybe a new branded bag.

 

“Oh, we know each other.” Jihoon says almost shyly. “Actually, we haven’t met in a while. Do you mind if I catch up with him for a minute?”

 

“Sure, darling.”

 

Jihoon doesn’t even wait for the sentence to end before grabbing Woojin by the hand and dragging him into the slightly more crowded area where conversation noises are already a cacophony.

 

“If you ruin this for me,” Jihoon’s grip on Woojin’s arm tightens as he whispers into Woojin’s ear with a smile. “I swear to god I will drive your car into the Han River.”

 

“Relax, Lee Jihoon.” Woojin says, emphasis on the _Lee_ and Jihoon rolls his eyes but he seems to be calming down from the way he grabs two champagne glasses from a passing by waiter before handing one to Woojin. “How does she not know we are friends? We are literally 50% of each other’s Instagram feed.”

 

“She’s technologically dumb.” Jihoon waves a hand. “Plus, I deleted all your photos from my feed. Didn’t you notice?”

 

“No, because you blocked me. Remember?”

 

“You only have one Instagram account?” Jihoon raises an eyebrow. “Jeez. I thought you’d have some sock accounts at least for trolling. Lame.”

 

Woojin just shakes his head. “So, we are talking again now?”

 

“I am still mad at you.” Jihoon says.

 

“I broke up with Hyeongseob.” Woojin says as a peace offering.

 

“I know. Guanlin mentioned.” Jihoon smirks. “Let me guess. He is annoying and also wants you to be as annoying as he is.”

 

Woojin just shrugs.

 

“Wow. Fake sarcastic shock … I was right???” Jihoon says with a comical hand-over-the-mouth pose and Woojin flicks him on the forehead just for it.

 

“You were right but I broke up with him because I wanted to, not because of some stupid veto thing we agreed on when we were 21 and stupid.”

 

“You were … still are the stupid one. I was never.” Jihoon says primly before giving Woojin his empty champagne glass. “Gotta go back to the lady who’s paying my rent this month.”

 

Woojin just laughs and watches Jihoon plays the naïve shy young guy to a tee throughout the night to a very oblivious and smitten woman. Jihoon looks over at Woojin at one point when everyone’s attention is on the rapper performing on the stage, and gives him a wink.

 

And that’s how Woojin knows they are back to being okay again.

 

* * *

 

Jihoon drops by the very next day, still dressed in the same suit as last night Gucci party and goes straight to the fridge.

 

“I thought you left your key here.” Woojin says. He’s been watching Jihoon walked in, casual as you please, from the small home gym that he had set up in the corner of his studio. It is nice that Jihoon is here but he needs to finish up his daily routine of 100 pull-ups first.

 

“I hid an extra one in that dead plant pot outside.” Jihoon shrugs and then closes the fridge. “Why do you have no food? I am ordering in. Pizza?”

 

“Sure,” Woojin says and does his 57th pull-ups.

 

Jihoon’s voice calls at him again when he reaches his 65th one. “Dude, they are saying your credit card is no longer valid.”

 

“Yeah,” Woojin grits his teeth and huffs out a breath. “I lost it last Thursday. The replacement one is supposed to come in tomorrow.”

 

“Ergh. Now I have to pay for my food too?” Jihoon mutters but goes back to ordering on the phone while Woojin finishes the rest of his routine.

 

“Stop exercising so much.” Jihoon says after Woojin has finally finished up and goes into the kitchen. “Too much muscle is not an attractive look.”

 

Woojin hip checks him out of the way so he can get a water bottle out of the fridge. “Speak for your lazy self. You got enough for rent last night?”

 

“And more.” Jihoon shrugs and jumps up onto the kitchen island. “I am set for like at least two months.”

 

“Found a good one, huh?” Woojin snorts and drowns half of the bottle. Jihoon just shrugs back at him.

 

“What’s the plan for tonight? I don’t have any class.”

 

“I am laying low for a while.” Jihoon says, legs swaying back and forth. “Wanna watch a movie and cuddle?”

 

“You?” Woojin laughs. “Want to cuddle? Fully-clothed?”

 

Jihoon kicks at him. “Why? You are ok with cuddling with your stupid face boyfriend but not me?”

 

Woojin just rolls his eyes. “Stop bringing up my stupid face _ex_ boyfriend. And while we are at it, let’s not do the veto thing anymore. It is annoying.”

 

“No.” Jihoon says firmly.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Who is the first person I’ve vetoed you from ever dating?” Jihoon asks.

 

“You.”

 

“Yeah, it still stands.”

 

* * *

 

Woojin dated – in a very loose term – Jihoon after they first met. It mainly means a lot of kisses and sex and clubbing together and getting wasted/high together. Jihoon wasn’t hiding that fact that he was sleeping around and neither was Woojin. Those were really good times back then, at least until Jihoon wants them to stop having sex and Woojin didn’t really argue even though he wanted to because to be honest, he was more concerned with not having Jihoon in his life than not having sex with Jihoon. Jihoon told him that he didn’t want to sleep around with Woojin anymore and to just be friends, and Woojin agreed. He has never particularly regretted saying yes, but he sometimes wondered what would have happened if he had just pushed a little.

  

* * *

 

 

“Listen, I was the one who started this veto thing.” Woojin says to Jihoon over pizza. “I can take it back if I want to.”

 

“No, you cannot.” Jihoon replies back strongly. “You started it but now it is a two-party thing.”

 

“You really don’t want me to date you, huh?” Woojin says. “Am I supposed to be offended?”

 

Jihoon just stares at him before nodding. “Yes to the not-dating part. No to the offended part. I don’t want you to date me because I like you.”

 

“That makes no sense.”

 

“Woojin,” Jihoon sighs. “You have to know, right? You are literally the only constant person I have in my life outside of my blood relationship. I’d rather die than date you and then break up with you and lose you.”

 

“You dumped me just last week.”

 

“Let’s not act like both of us don’t know we are gonna be back here again.” Jihoon rolls his eyes, and touché.

 

“So, why can’t we at least have sex?” Woojin asks again. “Even if you don’t want to date. You told me you wanted to stop sleeping with me too.”

 

“Sex is supposed to be fun, not, I don’t know, mixed with emotions.”

 

“You like me so much you were getting emotional when we were fucking?” Woojin blinks. “Damn.”

 

“Stop twisting my words idiot.” Jihoon says. “It’s easier to be friends with you.”

 

Woojin sighs. “I vetoed you from dating Kang Daniel not because he was a more famous dancer than me. It was because I thought you genuinely liked him.”

 

Jihoon smiles. “I know.”

 

* * *

 

“I think something’s wrong with Jihoon hyung,” Guanlin says as he hands Woojin his coffee. Guanlin got a part time job recently at a café so Woojin has been frequenting – both to help with the clientele (some people have to pay Woojin to check in at their cafés, ok?) and also to use the family and friends discount that Guanlin has.

 

“Wrong how?” Woojin asks. Jihoon does a lot of things that Guanlin does not understand so he has learn to take Guanlin’s worries with a pinch of salt over times. Like that one time Guanlin was worried that Jihoon has been kidnapped or assaulted because of the incoherent messages Jihoon has left on his phone at 3 in the morning, but it took Woojin only one listen to understand that Jihoon was just high and asking Guanlin to buy more lime juice the next time he goes shopping so he can make Mai Tai.

 

“He has been sleeping at our place for like a week now.” Guanlin says.

 

“He did say he’d be laying low for a while.” Woojin shrugs. He has been busy with the dance studio’s upcoming project so he’s been mainly talking to Jihoon via chat or video calls.

 

“No, he did go out to party but he comes back by like 1 AM every night and I can’t believe I am saying this but that is way too early for him to be coming home.”

 

“True,” Woojin nods. “I am dropping by at your place later to have dinner with him anyway. I’ll try to see if anything’s wrong.”

  

* * *

 

 

“Yo.”

 

Jihoon barely looks up from the bottles and glasses in front of him when Woojin walks into his tiny apartment.

 

“You are here? Good.” Jihoon just says and points at the fridge. “Help me take out the olive jar from the fridge. I am making martinis.”

 

“You don’t even eat olives.” Woojin says but heads to the fridge after taking off his coat.

 

“It’s not a martini if there isn’t an olive that I can pluck out and throw away.” Jihoon says and shakes the cocktail mixer violently. Woojin just takes the half empty olive jar and pokes small toothpicks on the table into a couple of olives.

 

“Thank you,” Jihoon sings and drops an olive stick each into the two glasses.

 

“That’s your lunch?” Woojin points at the glasses and asks.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Jihoon says and hands him one of the glasses. “I do know how to eat healthy. I had half a ramen earlier.”

 

Woojin shakes his head and laughs, tasting the martini.

 

“You’d make a decent bartender, you know?”

 

Jihoon scowls at him. “Stop insulting me and tell me where you are taking me for dinner later.”

 

“I don’t know.” Woojin shrugs. “Whatever you feel like eating, I guess.”

 

“Chicken,” Jihoon says and Woojin would be lying if he says he is not expecting this.

 

“I have an invite for a new club opening night in Itaewon later. Wanna tag along?” Woojin asks.

 

Jihoon gives him a look. “Do you think I’d refuse?”

 

“I don’t know,” Woojin shrugs. “According to Guanlin, you were practically chastise for the past week.”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “A guy comes back home on time for a couple of days and Guanlin thinks he’s Virgin Mary.”

 

“You alright though?” Woojin leans across the counter and asks. “You don’t have like some STD or anything right?”

 

Jihoon punches him in the shoulder before feeding Woojin his olives. “I haven’t dropped my condoms and regular test policy, so no. I don’t have any STD.”

 

“Good to know,” Woojin says with a mouthful of olives. “That club is owned by a chaebol son so a lot of rich kids are probably coming. Wear something slutty.”

 

“Do I own anything else?” Jihoon smirks.

 

* * *

 

“These kids keep getting younger and younger,” Jihoon whispers into Woojin’s ear among the thumping bass of the shitty EDM music the club is playing.

 

“Or you are just old.” Woojin wraps his arms around Jihoon to pull him closer and says. Jihoon elbows him but grinds his hips right into Woojin’s on the beat of the music.

 

“You see anyone you like?” Woojin asks. Jihoon smells like charcoal (probably from the barbeque restaurant they came from) and the cologne Woojin bought him last time.

 

Jihoon just gives a non-committal noise as answer and Woojin hooks his chin over Jihoon’s shoulder and sways to the music. They do this a lot, dancing at clubs while they both scout out someone to go home with, mostly to show off because both of them are pretty and suggestive especially when they are dancing. Woojin kind of wishes Jihoon doesn’t find anyone he deems good enough tonight though. He hasn’t danced with Jihoon in a while and he misses this. Having Jihoon in his arms, warm skin and familiar scent all for Woojin. It might be a useless wish though because this club is crawling with chaebol ducklings and Woojin had already counted about 5 or 6 of them who had been giving Jihoon the bedroom eyes. He had to eliminate at least half of them though because they’d land Jihoon in jail for statutory rape.

 

“I am good now,” Jihoon says and turns in Woojin’s arm so he is facing Woojin, and loops his arms around Woojin’s neck.

 

“Good,” Woojin repeats Jihoon’s words and settles his hands in Jihoon’s pants pockets, which are extremely tight. Well, Woojin did tell him to wear something slutty.

 

They dance for a while until Jihoon gets thirsty and drags Woojin to the bar for a couple of ridiculously named cocktails, which are at least free because it is opening night. Then, he drags Woojin back onto the dance floor because he has absurd amount of stamina for someone who has never exercised in his life. But Woojin is not one to lose so he just follow Jihoon’s lead.

 

“You are pretty,” Woojin says halfway through a even more annoying remix of a Chainsmoker song and Jihoon laughs, teeth blindingly white under the blacklight.

 

“I know, right?”

 

Woojin laughs too. And leans down to kiss Jihoon. Jihoon kisses him back and that is normal for them, until Jihoon’s kisses become rougher and there are hands in his hair and Jihoon is grinding against him in ways that are probably illegal in some countries.

 

“The veto…” Woojin pants among the kisses before he completely loses his mind over the feeling of Jihoon’s ass under his hands.

 

“Fuck the veto.” Jihoon says and Woojin has never agreed on anything more.

 

* * *

 

Guanlin is home and Jihoon insists that he doesn’t want to traumatize the kid (they are still not Guanlin’s parents, dammit), so Woojin takes them back to his apartment, and it still is as good, if not better than he remembers. Having Jihoon under him and above him, making little noises and intakes of breath like Woojin is the only one that matters, and Woojin doesn’t know what Jihoon was talking about before. Having sex mixed with emotions is awesome.

 

Woojin hasn’t had sex this satisfying in forever and he falls asleep easily, holding one hand over the back of Jihoon’s head.

 

When he wakes up, Jihoon is not in bed next to him but he can hear the distant noise outside his room so he just waits until Jihoon comes back in, butt naked and a bowl full of ice cream in his hand.

 

“Breakfast?” Jihoon lifts the bowl and asks, mouth already full of ice cream.

 

“I thought you’d have left with my most expensive shit again.” Woojin grins and lets Jihoon feed him a spoonful of ice cream.

 

“I’d have asked if I wanted anything from you.” Jihoon says seriously. “Before, I would just steal it but now I’d tell you _Hey Woojin, I am taking your Supreme hoodie_ , because I care about you.”

 

“Very touching.” Woojin puts a hand over his naked chest and says.

 

“Your heart is on the other side, idiot.” Jihoon rolls his eyes and Woojin grins before shifting his hand so it is resting on the left side instead.

 

“It’s not that bad, is it?” Woojin asks after he watches Jihoon eats his breakfast in silence for a while.

 

“What is?”

 

“Us.”

 

“I never said I thought it’d be bad.” Jihoon says.

 

“Date me,” Woojin says seriously. “Fuck the stupid veto. I want to date you.”

 

Jihoon stares at him for a second before sighing and leaning over to put the empty ice cream bowl onto the night stand. “I don’t know, dude.”

 

“What is so difficult about dating me?” Woojin asks.

 

“Because it is you.” Jihoon says and lies down back on the bed. Woojin throws a leg over him and looks down at Jihoon’s shining eyes. “Dating comes with expectations and rules and I don’t think I am made for those.”

 

“It is us.” Woojin says, reaching his arm out so he can intertwine Jihoon’s fingers in his. “We’ll make our own rules, like always. If you want, we can have an open relationship. You know I don’t get jealous over who you sleep with as long as you don’t have actual feelings for them.”

 

Jihoon sighs. “You know why I have been such a homebody lately?”

 

“Because you found the way of God?”

 

Jihoon snorts. “Because I keep thinking about you during sex with other people. I even said your name once while I was fucking a guy. Don’t laugh, asshole. I mean, I normally don’t remember or even know the name of the people I am sleeping with, but it is kind of fucked up to call out your name of all things.”

 

“You are ridiculously in love with me, aren’t you?” Woojin beams and leans down to bite at Jihoon’s lower lip. Jihoon shoves at his chest.

 

“Maybe it is temporary.” Jihoon says after pushing Woojin off of him. “I still like going out and partying and telling bar lies so the bartender believes I am actually the distant cousin of Sunmi and gives me free drink.”

 

“And you can still do all those.” Woojin says. “While dating me.”

 

“And I flirt with a lot of people.”

 

“I know,” Woojin squeezes Jihoon’s hand tighter. “Have you forgotten that I am also your best friend? I already know all that shit and I still want to date you as you are. As long as you come back home to me.”

 

Jihoon gives him a small smile, the one that Woojin knows he doesn’t let out often to anyone other than Woojin.

 

“And as long as you don’t get arrested for anything other than like petty theft.”

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes but leans up to kiss Woojin and Woojin easily kisses him back, freeing one hand so he can play with Jihoon’s ass for possible round three.

 

“Hang on,” Jihoon says and gets up and Woojin whines.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“I want to drip ice cream over your dick and lick it.” Jihoon says, leaning over to get the ice cream bowl. “Can I?”

 

Woojin just shakes his head and laughs. “Go nuts.”

 

* * *

 

So, it goes like this. Woojin is still teaching at the dance studio and Jihoon flirts his way into getting Woojin a judge spot at that Mnet dance survival show. Woojin is still posing photos of his naked abs and Jihoon is still posing blatant ass shots on Instagram but they tag each other on those posts now. And Jihoon still goes out almost every night, sometimes with Woojin and sometimes by himself or his other friends and parties and drinks and dances his way through the night but he always, _always,_ comes back to Woojin when the night ends (or when the morning ends in some cases), and that’s what matters to Woojin.

 

And sometimes, when they go out together and some strangers want to get all up on Jihoon, Jihoon would let them for a few minutes before bringing them over to Woojin and saying “This is my boyfriend” before nestling himself at Woojin’s side, like he is somehow taking pleasure from the disappointment in the those potential suitors’ eyes.

 

Woojin usually just ends up laughing and kissing his human disaster boyfriend.

 

He really couldn’t have gotten himself anyone better.


End file.
